In answer to questions, Chief Booth explained that shooting restrictions have begun, and only shooters having a permit are permitted to shoot as described in their permit. Welding and the like are allowed in Stage 1, but not Stage 2, although there is a process to apply for a “hot work” permit (torching, welding – any spark producing device), She cautioned, however that it was unlikely that a hot work permit would be granted unless it was a critical infrastructure requirement.
Roll Call: Secretary Mary Pope called the roll and confirmed a quorum of 14 member organizations present.
Approval of Agenda: Susan asked if there were any changes and hearing none, Don Groves moved that the agenda be approved as written and Carolyn Fisher seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
President’s Report: Susan reported that she and John Wichert attended the May 16th Keep Sedona Beautiful Board (KSB) meeting to provide an update on the current Coconino National Forest Final Environmental Assessment (EA) dates, and to request support for the Council’s recent resolution on Exit 298 of I-17. KSB has their own reasons for wanting safety improvements at that interchange – for example they do litter control there and debris from collisions is collected – so they wrote their own letter requesting safety improvements be made. That letter was included with the meeting information.
Secretary’s Report: Mary asked if there were any changes to the draft May 9 meeting minutes, and hearing none, Pat Robles moved that the minutes be approved as written and Carolyn Fisher seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mary then welcomed Camille Cox back as an Alternate Representative for the Pine Valley Neighbors and thanked Diane Judson for her service.
Treasurer’s Report: Susan spoke on behalf of Treasurer Patty Reski, who is traveling. May expenses included $4300 to Earthrise for a total of $9000 paid year to date, $10 to the Arizona Corporation Commission for our annual report filing, and $11 for the usual MailChimp email monthly charges. May income included $2000 from the Sedona Village Partnership (SVP) for their agreed contribution to help with Earthrise expenses. The bank balance as of June 1 is $9200 with $1000 of that designated for Earthrise’s final bill. There are no financial issues on the horizon.
Unfinished Business:
ADOT 5-year plan: Dave Norton reported that he’d given ADOT the BPC Resolution three weeks ago at their meeting in Flagstaff and updated them with letters of support from the City of Sedona, KSB and Yavapai County Supervisor Donna Michaels. He and others will attend the hearing on the 5-year plan June 21. BPC is specifically concerned with safety at the intersection of I-17 and SR-179 (Exit 298).
Hybrid Meeting Survey Results & Next Steps: Susan noted that all survey data was included in the meeting materials and then highlighted top level results. The survey was sent to all 66 BPC Representatives and Alternates and was open between May 1 and May 21. 26 people completed the survey, representing 83% of our member organizations. Most feel comfortable attending in-person meetings and can do so, however 30% are either unable or uncomfortable attending an in-person meeting. There will therefore always be a zoom (remote access) component of future BPC meetings.
Turning to Hybrid Meeting Requirements, Susan noted that the survey showed it was important that everyone had an equal opportunity to speak and vote regardless of attending in person or via Zoom. 78% said Zoom participants should be able to speak during a discussion and not wait until the end. 93% said it as important to see and hear presentation materials and 78% said it was important to see each other. Of those who had a preference of in-person locations, more were in favor of the Village Library than Verde Valley School. 62% supported spending on new equipment to meet our hybrid meeting requirements, but concerns were raised.
Having discussed these results, the Executive Board (EB) recommends a measured approach and will test hybrid meetings to work out the details. The July 2 EB meeting will be used as a test of the library’s technology and personal laptops. Based on that experience, we may do additional EB test meetings using different or enhanced technology drawing on the support of Dave Norton and Fred Lenz. Fred is the Council’s technology consultant and one of his areas of expertise is hybrid meeting technology. These pilot meetings will allow us to assess location, logistics, technology and costs of hybrid meetings, and compare actual experiences to the meeting requirements noted in the survey. The Council will receive updates on our experiences, along with recommendations. It is our hope to be able to pilot a Council meeting sometime in the Fall.
New Business:
Art in the Roundabouts (AiR) Committee Dissolution/SVP Acceptance: A special notice email with Information on this agenda item was sent out to all Reps / Alts on May 24th. Before providing an overview of the project’s progress, Susan noted that a potential conflict of issue question has been raised as several BPC Reps/Alts are also members of SVP. The EB discussed this potential issue at length and agreed that there is no Conflict of Interest in this matter because there is no personal, material or monetary gain for those who are members of both organizations. That said, transparency is important, and she asked those attending who are members of both organizations to raise their hand so that the record can reflect this. Don Groves, Dave Norton and Carolyn Fisher raised their hands acknowledging that they are BPC Representatives and members of the Sedona Village Partnership. Dave Norton further acknowledged that he is Chair of the Red Rock Road Enhancement Maintenance District (RRREMD).
Susan then noted that in the two years since the creation of the committee they’ve accomplished most of their purpose and scope, now being at the point of selecting, purchasing, installing and maintaining the roundabout art; along with establishing the required agreements to accomplish these tasks. The agreements, as drafted & provided to the EB, included some roles & responsibilities that the EB could not recommend the Council accept. Additional discussions with SVP resulted in a verbal agreement that is a win-win for the Council, the AiR Committee, Sedona Village Partnership and for the community who will reap the benefit of roundabout art. That agreement is to “transfer” the AiR Committee to SVP to complete the outstanding tasks. SVP Board has agreed to accept these responsibilities. Council by-laws do not include a provision for transferring a Council approved committee to an external organization. That is why AiR must be dissolved by the Council, with the understanding that SVP has officially agreed to absorb its ongoing work. After the transfer, SVP will provide periodic updates to the Council, and the Council will continue to distribute updates and reports via the Council email list. Also to maintain link(s) on the BPC website to ourvillageart.org where appropriate.
Susan then turned the meeting over to Steve Fiedler, AiR Co-Chair and Steve presented the following motion, seconded by Pat Robles. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion to approve the dissolution of the AiR Ad-hoc Committee
1. With full transfer of roles and responsibilities to Sedona Village Partnership (SVP) as completion of the Big Park Regional Coordinating Council (BPRCC) approved Purpose and Scope,
2. Consistent with this, the immediate termination of the June 2022 BPRCC / SVP Roundabout Artwork Accommodation Agreement,
3. and transfer of the AiR content on the BPC website to SVP
Website Updates & Media Committee: Pat Robles reported that she, Fred Lenz and Mary Pope met, contacted committee chairs and the website has been updated. She especially thanked Joe Skidmore for quickly supplying the latest extensive APS Transmission line information. Pat emphasized the absence of a routine process to keep the website and Facebook updated and noted the loss in credibility when our website said “Latest News” with a dateline of September 2023. She then called for volunteers to join her, Mary and Fred, on this committee. The first task being to write a Purpose & Scope for Council discussion and approval.
Committee Reports:
APS Subcommittee: Joe Skidmore thanked Pat, Fred and Mary for updating the website! He then reported that he, Mark Matousek and John Wichert met with Regional Forester & NEPA Coordinator Mike Dechter, Acting District Ranger Alex Schlueter and Deputy District ranger Wendy Peterson. Wendy had been a fire investigator in Oregon. The meeting was very positive and educational. The committee learned that a 40ft wide management corridor is required whether the transmission line is above or below ground. This requirement means that some of the recommendations (e.g. burial along SR-179) would be extremely difficult. They also learned that an archeological site has been identified along the proposed route, and the route has been modified. The Forest Service feels that the primary wildfire risk is during construction and that APS has minimized ongoing risk in part by proposing to use new technology low sag composite wiring. The Forest Service would like to have a Resolution Meeting with BPC interested parties (< 12) to discuss issues and perhaps agree to compromises before the final Environmental Assessment is issued in September. The currently outstanding Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was not discussed with the Forest Service, and Joe noted that the committee met with the BPC EB and that Senator Kelly’s office was being contacted to add pressure to the Forest Service to respond to the FOIA.
John Wichert then noted that Alex Schlueter also requested a meeting with the BPC EB to understand more about our organization and to form a closer working relationship. That meeting has been set for July 23rd.
Community Plan Committee: Joe reported that he’s worked through the files in the committee’s drop box, organizing and eliminating duplication. This simplification and clarification of information will help the committee move forward. Mary Pope noted that a copy of the drop box files is on the BPC Google Drive and Joe agreed to get together to collaborate, coordinate and unify those information sources.
Planning & Zoning Committee: In the absence of Bob Marriott, John Wichert reported that there are several new people on the committee, and they met with Nancy Maple and were trained on using the Yavapai County Citizen Serve portal to review requests and determine which are worth follow up. It is a complex process, and the plan is to rotate the responsibility.
USFS Liaison (Firewise Update): No report
Verde Valley Transportation Planning Organization (VVTPO): Jeff Swan noted that a review and update of the Transportation Plans and Transportation Safety Plans will soon be underway. He observed that Exit 298 is a high traffic interchange with 25,000 vehicles daily using it from I-17 and an additional 7500 vehicles daily from SR-179. The intersection is overdue for an update. A similar intersection in Camp Verde has been updated and approval for that update happened 15 years ago. The VVTPO meets next week, and he’ll have a more detailed report for the Council next month.
